Stumptown Is Canning Its Nitro Cold Brew for the Masses

First, everyone wanted cold brew (well, almost everyone). Then nitro cold brew became the next hot (or cold) thing. Nitro is so hot, in fact, that indie roasting darling Stumptown had to find a way give us all easier access to it—and so the canned nitro cold brew was born.

Portland-based Stumptown began serving nitro cold brew on tap in their café back in June 2013, but this is the first time people who love the combination of nitrogen and cold brew can create that awesome-looking nitro cascading effect at home.

Beyond looking cool, those tiny nitrogen bubbles also add another layer of flavor to traditional cold brew. “Our job is to create very tiny nitrogen bubbles and force them into the cold brew using very controlled high pressure,” Nate Armbrust, technical services manager at Stumptown’s Cold Brew Department, said to Sprudge. “The goal of getting the nitrogen into the product is so that it can come out of the product when served—creating the dramatic cascading effect. The Nitro Cold Brew in a can is then further assisted by streaming nitrogen gas out of the widget through the cold brew once the top is popped.”

So, yes, not only does Nitro Cold Brew look like a Guinness when it’s poured, it also requires a similar type of special can. In fact, Stumptown has to get these nitro widget-equipped cans shipped all the way from the Ball cannery in Europe.

Stumptown’s Nitro Cold Brew cans are set to retail for between $5 and $5.50 per can. They should be available in all Stumptown cafés as we speak, as well as some grocery store test markets in California and Oregon.